Monday, June 29, 2009

Home Again

Yesterday we left my mom's house about 7:15 (I was aiming for 7:00...) and took our normal route home again - the 97c over the mountains to the Coquilhalla highway (which used to be a $10.00 toll, but it has been paid for now, so the toll booths are gone), then down to the Trans-Canada Highway, crossing the border at Abbottsford/Sumas, then thru the countryside to Bellingham, and Interstate 5 all the way home to Roseburg.

I always get a little nervous about crossing the border. If Lee is with me, we will switch drivers so he's the one talking to the guard. I get that from my dad - he would get befuddled at the border, too. It's like you want to be super-careful to answer everything correctly, and then you can't hear the question properly. So when he asked if we had any fresh fruits or vegetables, I said "no, sir." I had 4 store-bought apples in the cooler - whoops!

We didn't see any burning trucks or flipped-over cars on the way home either. Yay. As it was, we got to use the express lane thru Seattle (which rarely happens). I still don't get that whole thing. You'd think it would be used to relieve traffic, but southbound was wide open before & after Seattle, and when we came out on the other side, northbound was a parking lot. Huh?

Connor surprised me yet again. On the way up, we'd stayed at a Comfort Inn in Kelso, WA. Around 4:30 we were going back through Kelso, and Connor says, "Mommy, turn right! Go right!" He was pointing to the exit for the hotel. From the opposite direction from the way we'd gone the last time! Dang, that kid has an awesome sense of direction & recall of landmarks!

I had to explain we were not stopping this time. Maybe next time.

We did take the offramp right off the bridge over the Columbia river at Portland to go to the Jantzen Beach Mall. They have a massive carousel left over from when Jantzen Beach was an amusement park. It burned down many years ago. I thought Connor & Diana could ride the carousel, but Connor got scared, so only Diana rode. We ate dinner then, and finished off the last leg of the trip.

I did put a hot pack on my shoulders and Lee gave me a little massage before I went to bed since a 14-hour drive tends to tighten those muscles :/

Still, I slept really well in my own bed, and I was home to greet Trevor this morning on his 20th birthday :)